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Bonzai Junior (TV channel)
Bonzai Jr. '''is an American digital cable and satellite television channel that is owned by the BritCan Communications Cable Entertainment Group division of BritCan Communications, itself owned by Kandanal Entertainment. The channel's current lineup is comprised entirely of domestic and acquired preschool-oriented programs. The channel originally launched in Fall 2005 as '''BonBon, a multiplex of parent service Bonzai Network 50% owned by Sesame Workshop. Following Sesame's departure in the channel, its growth in original programming, and the re-branding of all K&F channels under the Bonzai brand, BonBon was rebranded to Bonzai Jr. on the channel's ninth anniversary.1 As of January 2016, Bonzai Jr. is currently available to 72 million American pay television households.2 History As BonBon (2005-14) On October 4, 2004, BritCan Communications revealed plans to launch a 24-hour commercial-free television channel aimed at preschoolers as a spin-off of Bonzai Network, with Sesame Workshop signing up to play a key part in the channel. At the time of the announcement, Sesame had previously dropped out of another preschool joint venture, Noggin (with Viacom Media Networks, later became Nick Jr. in 2009) and was already beginning a new endeavor with the then-competing PBS Kids Sprout '(a joint venture between Sesame, HIT, PBS, and Comcast which launched only two weeks after the channel)345, until NBCUniversal (now owned by Comcast) bought their stakes in the channel. The new network, officially revealed to the public as '''BonBon '''in June, began broadcasting on September 12, 2005 at 6 a.m. Eastern Time with an episode of ''Miffy and Friends. The channel's slate at launch was comprised of original programming such as Papa Jack's Steam Cottage, Molly's Valley, and Zooba, along with acquired fare such as Big Bag (which Sesame had made for Cartoon Network), Pocoyo, Maisy, The Upside Down Show, Tiny Planets, and ''Tweenies ''(the latter four which have all had their run on Noggin). It should be noted that because the competing Sprout channel had more of Sesame's extensive library, the company only loaned its rare and not well known titles for the channel. Originating as a commercial-free network, BonBon was financed solely by subscription fees and product tie-ins. In order to fill-in half-hour block, BonBon featured many interstitials teaching children curricular activites (which would later become the basis for the network's ''Playhouse'' block), as well as promos for the channel's website and series. In addition, in order to gain and increase popularity for the channel, promos on Bonzai Network and sister channel Bonzai Network Too (then known as '''Bonzai+), as well as BritCan's primary television channels. On April 3, 2006, a BonBon-branded block of programming was added to the daily lineup of parent channel Bonzai Network, running in a weekday morning timeslot. Beginning that same day, the linear channel began referring itself as the BonBon Channel to differentiate itself from the block of the same name. Although BonBon began to grow its original slate over the years, Sesame retained program distribution partnerships with the network until September 28, 2010, in which BritCan Communications acquired the stakes held in BonBon by the company, with all Sesame productions phasing out slowly until January 2012. The network later expanded its programming offerings to include shows from other producers, as well as some programs that were already airing on the Bonzai Network block, in June of that year. Despite Sesame's departure in the joint venture, returning series from the channel's primary launch aired for one week only during the network's tenth anniversary from September 12 - 18, 2015. In 2013, BonBon began to adapt a more updated and amended branding with 2D and 3D graphics, developed by Brand New School, to compete with other preschooler-targeted networks such as Nick Jr., Disney Junior, Sprout, and Qubo. More new original series were added to the lineup, along with many foreign series primarily imported from the UK and Canada, and the schedule was later revamped, featuring hour-long blocks of network series. As Bonzai Jr. (2014-present) Major developments were announced for the Bonzai family of channels at the January 2014 BritCan Communications upfront. Hanshiro Anio, the current CEO of the Kids & Family division of BritCan and manager of Bonzai Television Network, LLC, announced that all channels within the "Kids and Family" department would be rebranded and unified under the Bonzai brand. BonBon was the second channel to was the second to be re-branded after BNX, and the re-branding to Bonzai Jr. took effect on September 12, 2014, on the channel's ninth anniversary. With the relaunch, the channel went through a major overhaul and channel drift. Older series were replaced by more board-appeal and modern preschool series, and its slogan was changed from "Play and Learn" to "It's What Little Kids Want". Alongside new and original productions, BritCan reached a new output deal with Little Airplane Productions for new program supply agreements. On-air identity/bumpers The network's bumpers and IDs were first designed by the studio Primal Scream, which modeled the branding after a storybook and preschool fusion environment. The branding also heavily utilized the "photo-puppetry" animation style. In 2013, BonBon received new 3D graphics designed by Brand New School to better compete with other preschooler channels, as a result of its addition to standard TV packages. Primal Scream would later return to design the channel and website with the rebrand to Bonzai Jr., with a huge emphasis on a soft and calming feel. The graphics had been replicated to look like it had been drawn/sketched by pencil, along with water colors such as orange, green, blue, and brown. Programming Further information: List of programs broadcast by Bonzai Jr. As in its name, Bonzai Jr. airs domestic and acquired programs—both animated and live-action—geared towards preschoolers, with an approach on learning skills. The channel usually packages its programming into hour-long block mixes of 15-minute series, with interstitials featuring curricular activities (similar to the format of Noggin, and later Nick Jr. until 2012). Programming blocks Current programming blocks * The Big Treehouse ''- the network's late morning and early afternoon block, which debuted on September 14, 2015 and runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Hosted by Madilyn Zara and Bub, a CGI-animated "hubble", the block is aimed at young children who are not yet at the age to attend school, and so is modeled after a well-ran preschool, being a learning opportunity with key curricular knowledge in thematic segments that focus on mathematics, science, and reading skills. The block was previously known as ''Playhouse from 2005 until 2013. References 1. "BonBon Rebrands as Bonzai Jr." (Press release). BritCan Communications. September 12, 2014. Retrieved December 15, 2014 - via Variety. 2. "Cable Network Coverage Area Household Universe Estimates: January 2016". Broadcasting & Cable. January 31, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2017. 3. "Sesame yet again joins new preschool venture" (Press release). December 8, 2004. Retrieved September 8, 2005 - via The Futon Critic. 4. "Sesame In Hot Water — BonBon vs. PBS Kids Sprout As Company Programs Two Preschool Skewing Channels" The New York Times. June 24, 2005. Retrieved August 23, 2005. 5. "BritCan Communications to Team Up With Sesame Workshop for Creation of 24/7 Preschool Network" (Press release). BritCan Communications. December 6, 2004. Retrieved October 20, 2004. Category:TV Channels Category:Bonzai Jr. Category:BritCan Communications